A cobporatiom



J. HAUK.

WIRE HOOP MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED IuIIIaIIv 191B.

1 307,735 Patented June 24, 1919.

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WIRE HOOP MACHINE.

7 APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11. 1918. 1 307,735, Patented June 24, 1919.

s SHEETS-SHEET 2,

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APPLICATION FILED JUNEH, I9l8.

1,307,735. PatentedJune 24, 1919.

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WIRE HOOP MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 11; 1918.

Patented June 24, 1919 a sHEETs-sHEET 4.

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WIRE HOOP MACHINE.

APPLICATION FlLED JUNE 11. 1918.

Patenfed June 24, 191% 8 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

J. H'AUK.

WIRE HOOP MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE ll, I918. 1,307,735. Patented June 24, 1919. sSHEETS-SHEET 1.

W1 messes J. HAUK.

WIRE HOOP MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED snugly. 191s.

Patented June 24, 1919.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

JOSEPH HAWK, F CHICAGU, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNUR T0 INTERSTATE IRON ANDSZIIEEL UF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A C001 .vv nor MA'CHINE.

tpeeification of Letters Patent. gtmm'tgfl QQ, 191,

Application filed 1T une 1111, i918. Serial. No. 239,3'20.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that l, Josnrrr HAUK, a citizenof the United States, residing at Chi-' cage, in the: county of 'Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Wire-Hoop Machines, of which the. following is a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to machines for manufacturing wire' hoops forbarrels and other containers, and its primary object is to provide amachine bywhich the hoops are made and uniformly curved throughout theirextent to the circular bend designed I for them in a continuousoperation. A further object is to provide a'coinbined-counting anddelivering mechanism by which the hoops are counted ofiin batches orbunches of any desired number upon an arm of a rezone for a new bunch orbatch. In machines for making Wire hoops heretofore employed the formingdevices which bend the Wire into hoo -like form-impart to the main"portion of t e wire the circular bend designed for the hoop but leavecertain irregularities, especially at the lapped ends which are-splicedto form the joint, and the hoop is then lifted from the machine by theoperator and placed between bending jaws to give the proper curvature toall por-' tions of the hoop including the twisted or spliced portions.These prior machines also are defective in that the hoops frequentlyarenot uniform in size when made from uniform lengths of wire.

By my inventionv the hoops are made and uniformly curved throughouttheir extent to the bend designed for them by a continuous mechanicaloperation, the machine containing mechanism to transfer the splicedhoops from the hoop-forming mechanism to an expander which curves themuniformly throughout their extent, mechanism to; hold the hoops on theexpander and mechanism to operate the expander, so that the manualoperations of lifting the hoops from the,

machine and passing them between bendingjaws or other curving devices toconform their irregularities to the proper curvature are avoided. Also,the expander insures thatthe hoops of any given batch are uniomittedform-in size, and drops them off'aftefthey are finished. Further, themachine contains,

mechanism to count off a batch of any given number of hoops to an arm ofa receiving reel, and'mechanism to periodically turn the reel to removethe batch of finished hoops from the zone of the machine and present anempty arm in this zone for a new bunch or batch.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described and thenpointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate a practical application ofmechanismto attain my various objects,

Figural is a view in frontelevation of a machine embodying the severalfeatures of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the same taken at the right handside of Fig. 1 and with part of the casing'in section and parts of-thepower-transmitting mechanism 'Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectionalview on an enlarged scale of the upper portion of the machine on theline 3-3 of Fig. 1 V

Fig. 4 is a similar view on the samescale as Fig. 3 and showing thelower portion of the machine on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1';

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 2 with partsbroken away;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of a portion of the mechanism tooperate the hoop-carrying arms with parts broken away and others insection;

Fig. 7 's a detail sectional view of part I of the mechanism of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a detail view partly in section on the line 8- 8 of Fig. 2;

pan er with other parts shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a detail perspectiveview of the expander and one 9f the hoop-holders with parts in section;

Fig. ll is a detail perspective view of one l Fi .9 is an invertedplan'view of the ex-.

of the holders for the hoop on the. expander;

a perspective view of the intermittent or mutilated gear for theexpanded. cam.

In the drawings the reference numeral 1 represents a suitable uprightframe on which the various parts are carried, and 2 the maindrive-pulley(m shaft 3 journaled in bearings at the top of the frame andto whichpower is applied from any suitable source and from which it istransmitted through bevel-gears 4 and 5 to a vertical shaft 6 mounted inhearings on one side of the frame and thence by bevel-gears 7 and 8 tothe main shaft 9 upon which the gear 8 is secured. The machine containssuitably driven feed-rolls 10 for feeding the wire from a coil to thehoop-former 11 having a circular raceway 11 to bend the wire intohook-like form and vertically supported upon a circular vertical plate12 on the frame, suitable wire grippin and cutting mechanism 13, arotating floating twister 14 confined in its circular casing 14 fortwisting or splicing the lapped ends of the severed wire and having theusual radial discharge slot 15, and suitably operated hoo strippingmechanism 16, controlled by t e main shaft 9, and as these devices areold and well-known, forexample in the patent to A. F. Dice, No. 689,578,dated Dec. 24, 1901, they are shown in conventional form and require nodetailed description, it being understood that the parts are so arrangedthat a hoop is spliced by the twister 14 and discharged by the stripper16 at each revolution of the shaft-,9;

A curved horn 17 is fastened to the plate 12 at' its upper vertical endin alinement withthe hoop-forming raceway to receive the hoop as it isstripped from the latter,

the diameter of the horn being such that the hoop easily slides thereon.The top portions of the horn, supporting plate and on opposite sides ofthe horn on shafts 21 which have longitudinal reciprocating motion toshift the studs into and out of the slots and IOCkiIlg motion to causethe studs to travel down the slots and return outside the slots whentheir shafts are rocked while shifted inwardl and outwardlyrespectively. The sha ts 21 are mounted toreciprocate and rock inbearings 22 on the frame, and they are in their outwardposition when ahoop is discharged upon the upper end of the horn by the stripper 16 sothat the studs 20 are in their retracted position out of their slots andout of the path of the hoop as shown in Fig. 1 to allow the hoop to passto position on the horn beyond the path of the closing-in movement ofthe studs, so that the latter lie behind the hoop on the horn when theyare moved into their slots. Each shaft 21 carries a collar 23 in aperipheral channel of a fixed sleeve 23 and'provided with a pair ofopposite pins 24 engaged by elongated yokes 25 on the upper portion of arocking-arm 26 keyed to the front end of a rock-shaft 27 journaled insuitable bearings on the frame and whose rear end carries a wiper-arm 28in the path of a crown cam-wheel 29 on a shaft 30 (Fig. 5) which isrotated in unison with the rotation of shaft 9 by a sprocket-chain 31connecting' equal sized sprocket-wheels 32 and I 33 respectively onthese shafts so that the shaft 30 makes a revolution for each hoopdelivered upon the horn by the strippingdevices 16. The wiper-arms 28are held by torsion springs 34 against the cam-wheels 29 so that whenthe arms are in contact with the dwells of the wheels the shafts 27 arerocked by the springs to the position shown in Fig. 1 with the shafts 21shifted outwardly and the studs 20 withdrawn from their slots 18 toallow a hoop to ass onto the horn, and the cam portions of t e wheelsrock the arms 28 reversely to shift the shafts 21 inwardly and. closethe arms 19 to their inner positions with their studs 20 projecting intothe slots as shown. in Fig. 8 and back of the hoo on the horn, the camsbeing timed to close t e studs into their slots when 100 a hoop isdelivered to the horn by the stripper 16 and toretain them in thisosition while the arms 19 are rocked to malie their hoop-carryingdownstroke in their slots and then the springs 34 reversely rock theshafts 27 to retract the shafts 21 and withdraw the studs from theirslots. The rocking motion of the shafts 21 to rock the arms 19 ispermitted by the collars 23 engaging the channels in the fixed sleeves23 and is provided by each shaft carrying at its outer end a fixedpinion 35meshing with a reciprocating rack 36 which is of sufficientwidth to engage its pinion in both of the positions of the latter whenits shaft 21 is shifted longitudinally and is reciprocated in aguide-box 37 mounted on the frame. Each rack is moved forwardly to rockits associated arm 19 upwardly to carry its stud to the top of its idlestroke by a cam-disk 38 mounted on the shaft 30 and bearing against afriction-roller 39 carried on the adjacent end of the associated rack,and is movedrearwardly to rock its associated arm 19 downwardly to makeits hoop-carrying stroke by the expansion of 'acoil-spring 40 mounted ona rod 41 fixed at one end in the rack and passin freely through anabutment 42 forme by the upper end of a bracket 43 fixed at its oppositeend to the tension by the .outwar memes guide-box 37, the sprihig beingput under rack by its cam 38 and reactingbetween the rack and abutmentto move the rack inwardly when the roller 39. enters the dwell in thecam-disk. The arms 19 are moved on their downstroke by their springs tocarry the studs 20 on their downstroke in their slots 18 so that in casea hoo carried over the horn by these studs bin s on the horn the springswill yield to avoid breakage of any'of the parts. When the arms 19 arein their closed position under the influenceof the cam-wheels 29 withtheir studs in the upper ends of the slots 18 the dwells in thecam-disks 38 permit the springs 40 to retract the racks 36 to turn thepinions 35 and shafts 21 to rock the arms forward and downward in theirslots to deliver a'hoop to the expander at the lower end of the horn,and when the arms 19 reach the end of their downstroke the springs 34shift the shafts.

mally flush with the lower end of the horn and are then outwardlybeveled as at 46.to center and level the hoop and provided with avertical skirt 47 on which the hoop is brought to rest by the arms 19,each of the heads having a clearance passage 48 in ex w tension of theslot 18 for the stud 20 on its corresponding side of the born. The heads45 are slidably supported on the underside of the horn; for this purposethe horn is provided with a transverse upwardly projecting centralbridge 49 having a guideplate 50 secured along the base of each of itssides with its inner edge projectin into the space below the bridge asshown c early in Fig. 10, and each head 45 carries a top guide-plate 51which slides freely between the opposite inner edges of the guides 50providing a way therefor, and also carries on top of its guide-plate 51a wider retainingplate 52 which fits and freely reciprocates within thebridge and whose outer edges overlie the inner edges of the guides 50.Each head has an inner central recess 45, and each guide-plate 50 has arecess 53 in extension of the corresponding recess .in its head, anda'wiper-roller 54 is carried in each recess 53 being mounted in its headand associated retaining plate 52 in the path of a double expander cam'55, which expands the heads when turned from its normal inoperativeposition shown in Fig. 10, and puts their return springs 45 undertension.

The expander cam is carried on the lower end of a shaft 56 rotatablymounted in cenmovement of its of a plunger 62 which is rotatably andslidably mounted in bearings 63 in a guide-box 64 fixed to the upperportion of the frame. The guide-box overhangs and is spaced above thehorn and its upper portion is divided as shown in Fig. 1, its upper endbeing supported by a closed yoke 65 which is horizontallyelongated asshown for a purpose hereinafter" described. The plunger is reciprocatedlongitudinally by an open frame composed of a pair of opposite arms 66fixed at one end to a pintle '67 mounted to rock in the frame andstraddling the box 64 at their free ends where they are connected to theplunger by the links 68 which are pivoted at their upper ends to thefree ends .of

the arms and at their lower ends to lateral pins 69 fixed in a collar 70which engages the plunger to reciprocate it longitudinally but allows itto rotate or turn. The guidebox 64 is cut away on each side as shown inFigs. 2 and 3 to allow clearance. for the plunger-pins 69' when theframe is operated by its operating link 71 which is pivoted at its lowerend to one of the arms of the frame and at its upper end to the'lowerend of a reciprocating rod 7 2 passing up through a vertical guide 7 3on the frame above which its free end is provided with a roller- 7 4engaged by a crown cam-wheel 7 5 to raise and lower the frame. Thecam-wheel 75 is mounted by spacin studs 76 on the upper face of themutilate gear 77 which is keyed to the upper end of a short verticalshaft 78 mounted in a bearing 7 9 on the frame and driven by miter gears80 and 81 from a short shaft 82 which is journaled in bearings 83 andhas Y a friction-brake 84 and carries a loose bevel gear 85constantly-rotated by a bevel-gear 86 keyed on a shaft 87 journaled inbearings 88 and having a driving pulley 89 to receive motion from anysuitable source of power. The clutch members 90and 91 fixed respectivelyon the shaft 82 and the sleeve of the gear 85 are connected anddisconnected by at its free end to the upper end of a link 96 whichcarries at its lower end an elongated closedyoke 97' inclosing the shaft9 and hav-. ing a wiper-roll 98 operated by a cam 99 on I a disk 100 onthe latter shaft, the clutch-pin connecting its members when the latch93-is raised by cam 99 out 'ofthe pathof its projection and retractedwhen the latch is lowered into its path. The cam 99 istimed to trip thelatch and allow the clutch to close to rotate the shaft 82 when thecarrier-arms 19 i are at the end of their downstroke to deliver a' hoopto the expander, which occurs once for each'revolution of shaft 9, andthen the shaft 78 'is rotated .to move the cam portion of the wheel 75out of the path of the roll -74 to allow the frame 66 to lower theplunger 62 to engagethe plunger-wrench 61 with the squared endof theshaft 56, and while the parts are in this relation the mutilated drivinggear-wheel 77 engages the driven gear-wheel 101 of theintermittent gearto turn the expander cam a half revolution.

The gear-wheel 101 is located in the yoke 65 and has a sleeve 102revolubly mounted in the guide-box 64 and splined to the plunger to turnthe latter but allow it to reciprocate longitudinally therein. Themutilated driving gear-wheel 77 of the intermittent gear is providedwith teeth along one half of its perimeter, and its opposite half is ofreduced diameter and carries a projecting: convex plate 103 whichinterlocks with either-concave end 104 of a locking plate" 105 fixedtransversely across the top of. the driven gear 101, as shown in Fig.15, the arrangement 'being such that during each revolution of the gear77 its teeth turn the gear 101 a half revolution and then the plates 103and 104 interlock and the gear 101 is locked against turning until thegear 77 again revolves, the center line of the concavity 104- of theplatebeing on the center line of the teeth of thedriven gear 101 so thatwhen the driving ear 77 is again turned its teeth mesh with t e teeth ofthe driven gear to turn the latter a half-revolution. Each half-revolutionof the gear 101 gives the act on the'hoop, and the parts areso related that the dwell of the camvwheel 7 5 is suffiplunger 62' a.half turn which is sufiicient 'to operate the double expander-cam 55 tomove the expander heads 45 outwardly to until the cam 99 again trips thelatch. Theclutch controls the expander-mechanism, and the cam 99 istimed-to close this clutch after the arms 19 are rocked down to delivera hoop in position on the expander, and while this clutch remains closedthev cam 7 5 istimed to lower the plunger to engage its wrench wish theupper end of the cam-shaft 56, and the mutilated gear is timed to thenrotate the plunger and the connected camshaft to spreadtheexpander-heads'45.'

The hoops are held in position on the expander-heads by oppositesupporting-plates 106 in the form of segments conforming to thecurvature of the skirts 47 of the expander-heads. The plates 106 havehoopretaining wings 107 and are mounted on laterally movablerocking-arms 108 keyed on the'forward ends of transverse rock-shafts 109which are mounted in bearings 110 on the frame and are provided at therear ends with rocker-arms 111 each carrying at its free end awiper-roll 112 in the path of a crown cam-wheel 113 on the shaft 30 torock the arm 108 away from its expander-head, and a spring 114 reverselyrocks the arms 108 when the rolls 112 are in the dwell of the cams, theorganization of the parts being such that the spring closes thesupportingplates on the expander to receive the hoop before the expanderis operated and to support it while the latter is operated, and the camsthen rock the plates away from the expander to allow the hoop to dropoff the expander when its heads are retracted after the stroke of theircam 54. The cams 29 and 113 are respectively timed to allow thecarrier-arms 19 when they have reached the end of their downstroke to bemoved outwardly by their actuating springs 34 before the plates 106 arewithdrawn from their position to support the hoop.

When a hoop drops off the expander it is caught by an arm of a receivingreel located below the expander. The reel is in the'form of a bifurcatedyoke having arms 115 and is revolubly operated so that the armsalternately stand in the zone of the expander to receive the hoopsdropping therefrom. The reel is carried on a head 116 fixed to the upperend of a shaft 11.7 revolubly mounted in a standard 118 projectingupwardly from the base-plate of the frame and rotated through mitergears 119 and 120 by a throughshaft 121 journaled in endbearing in theframe and in turn rotated through miter gears 122 and 123 by a verticalshaft 124 j ournaled in bearings 125 and in turn rotated through bevelgears 126 and 127 by a cross-shaft 128 journaled in endbearings 129 onthe frame. A sprocketwheel 130 loosely mounted on the shaft 128 isconstantly driven by the sprocket-chain 131 from a sprocket-wheel 132 onthe shaft 30, and is coupled and uncoupled with the shaft 128 by afriction clutch to periodically rotate the latter shaft. The hub 133 ofthe wheel 130 carries a friction-cup whose flange 133 surrounds theflange 134 of a second cup 134 loosely mounted on the shaft andconnected by coil-springs 135 to a spool 136 keyed to the shaft, and acam-disk 137 located in the cup 134 is keyed to the shaft and engagesthev rolle'i's 138 movably confined in openings in the fiange 134 thesprings 135-being put under tension and the. rollers moved into thereduced portions of 2 frictional engagement with the-flange 133 and theshaft 128 is rotated. The movement of the stop-block 142 is controlledby a trip-device and counting wheel operated from the shaft 30 whichmakes a revolution with the shaft 9 for each hoop delivered to theexpander. A worm 144 is keyed to one end of the shaft 30 and meshes witha worm- 3 wheel 145 on one end of a short shaft 146 journaled in asuitable bearing in a lateral bracket on the frame to turn theworm-Wheel 14.5 the distance of one tooth for eachrevolution of theshaft 30. The shaft 146 is provided at its other end with a fixedgearwheel 147 meshing with a gear-wheel 148 ren'iovably mounted on astub-shaft 149 carried by an arln 150 pivoted to the frameat 151. andthe gear 145 moves the distance of one toothfor each vhoop delivered,and the ratio of the gears 147 and 148 is such that they latter makes acomplete revolution for a given number of hoops so delivered, sayseventy-five, and by changing the ratio ofl these gears the number ofhoops discharged during each revolution of the gear 145 will varyaccordingly, the interchange of different gear-wheels at 148 beingprovided for by their removability on the stub-shaft149. Each gear-wheel148 is a counting wheel and carries a revolving drum 152 which isprovidedwith a peripheral recess 153 to receive the free inwardlyprojecting end of'a springactuated trigger or latch 154 which is carriedon one arm 155 of a bell-crank lever pivoted to freely swing on a bolt56 which is adjustably held by lock-nut 57 in' the curved slot 158 of asector-plate 159 which is integral with the arm 150 and is in turnadjustabl locked in position on the frame by the lock-holt160 passingthrough its upper curved slot 161. The opposite end 162 of thchell-crank is connected hvan adjustable link 163 to a rock-arm 164 fixedon one end of a rock-shaft 165 journaled in the frame and carrying atits other end a fixed arm 166 which is connected by a pivoted link 16?to the socket-block 142. When the counting-gear 148 completes arevolution a number of hoops corresponding to the number of its teethhas been discharged from the expander upon the adjacent arm 115 of the161 being The worm 144 makes one revolution expander.

receiving reel,z and the recess 153 in the drum 152 then comes into thepath of the trigger 154 Which is snapped into the recess by the force ofa retracting spring 168,. which is connected to the frame and the arm164and Withdraws the stop 141 from the path-of the lug 138 to allow theclutch to couple the revolving sprocket-wheel 130 to the shaft 128 toturn. the latter for a complete revolution and throu h the ratio of thebevel gears 126 and 12 turn the reelshaft' 117a half-revolution torotate one arm 115 with its bunch of hoops,out of the zone oftheexpander and present the empty arm into position below the expanderto re ceive a fresh batch of hoops. The arm 150 is provided witha handle169 to adjust the plate 159'for counting-disks 148 of Various sizes, itbeing understood that the adjustment of the bell-crank 155 iscorrespondinglymade for the variations in the size of the associateddrums 152, thelslots 158 and 'o'nfcentric, and struck on a radius Whosecenter is at '151. i

In theoperation of the machine, the drive shaft 9 controls the operationzof the devices to make the hoops, the stripping-mechanism 16'deliveringa hoop to the horn at each revolution of the shaft, the carrier arms 19then occupying the position shown in Fig. 1. These arms then are closedin to enter their studs in the slots behind the hoop on the horn and arerocked downwardly to carry the hoop alon the horn and deliver it to theThe supporting plates 106 are closed in .totheir'position against theexpander while the arms 19 are carrying the hoop along the horn, andwhen the hoop reaches the supporting plates the arms 19 are withdrawnfrom their slots to their outward position and rocked upwardly to theirinitial position the plates continuin to support the hooponthe expander.1' iile the plates 106 support the hoop on the expander the cam 99 tripsthe latch 93 and the clutch members 90 and 91 governing the expander arecoupled to rotate the cam-wheel 75 and operate the intermittent gears 77 and 101, so that the plunger-wrench is lowered to engage the shaft 56andis turned to operate the expander cam the plunger-wrench then beingimmediately restored to its inoperative position and the supportingplates being rocked outwardly and the expander heads retracted so thatthe finished hoop drops from the expander upon the receiving arm 1150fthe hoop-reel. For each hoop discharged on the receiving arm the shaft30 completes a revolution and moves the counting wheel 148-one tooth,and upon the C011? pletion of the revolution of the counting wheel uponthe, discharge of the number of 'hoops corresponding to the number ofteeth path of the trigger 151 which is snapped therein by the spring 168to trip the block 141 and permit the clutch 131 to couple the shaft 128to the constantly driven sprocket 133 so thatthis shaft is revolved toturn the shaft 117 a half-revolution to swing the active receiving armfrom its posltion below the expander and present an empty arm in itsplace to receive a new batch of completed hoops.

The horn and the skirt i7 of the expander when retracted are smallerthan the hoop, and the expander is slightly oval when retracted and whenexpanded is circular and slightly pulls the twist or splice of the hoop'to draw the hoop to a fixed circumference. The wings 107 of the expanderprevent the hoops from falling off the supporting-plates while thelatter are in' position against the retracted heads of the expander.

I claim;

1. In achoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wire intohoop-like form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from the hoop-former,a horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former, an expander adjacent thehorn, a pair of movable arms on opposite sides of the horn, andmechanism to move the arms to carry a hoop along the horn to theexpander. e

I 2. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and-splice a length of wireinto hoop-like form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from thehoop-former, a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former andhaving opposite curved slots, an expander at the other end of the horn,a pair of rocking-arms in alinement with the slots in the horn, means torock the arms to carry a hoop along the horn to the expander, and meansto operate the expander.

' 3. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wireinto hoop-like form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from thehoop-former, a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former andhaving opposite curved slots, an expander at the other end of the horncomposed of movable heads, a pair of rocking-arms in ahnement with theslots in the horn, mechanism to rock the arms to carry a hoop along thehorn to the expander, and means to operate the expander-heads.

4. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wire intohoop-like form, mechanism to strip a' spliced hoop from the hoop-former,a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop former, an expander atthe other end of the horn composed of a' pair of oppositely movableheads, means to move a hoop along the horn to the expander, cammechanism to operate the expander-heads, and means to periodicallyoperate said cam mechanism.

5. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wire intohoop-like form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from the hoop-former,a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former and havingopposite curved slots, a pair of rockingarms in alinement with the slotsin the horn, mechanism to shift the free ends of the arms alternatelyinto and out of the slots, and mechanism to rock the arms in onedirection while their ends are in the slots and in the oppositedirection while out of the slots.

6. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wire intohoop -1ike form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from the hoop-former,a curved horn having its upper end adjacent the hoop-former and havingopposite curved slots, a pair of rocking-arms in alinement with theslots in the horn, mechanism to shift the free ends of the armsalternately into the tops of the slots and out of their lower portions,and mechanism to rock the arms in opposite directions while their endsare respectively in and out of the slots.

7. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wire intohoop -like form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from the hoop-former,a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former and havingopposite curved slots, a pair of rockingarms having their free ends inalinement with the slots in the horn, a pair of shafts carrying saidarms, mechanism to shift the shafts to alternately move the free ends ofthe arms into and out of the slots, pinions on the shafts, reciprocatingracks engaging the pinions, springs to move the racks to rock the armswhile their ends are in the slots, and cams to move the racks to rockthe arms while their ends are out of the slots.

8. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wire intohoop-like form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from the hoop-former,a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former and havingopposite curved slots, a pair of rockingarms having their free ends inalinemcnt with the slots in the horn, a pair of shafts carrying saidarms, yokes having pin and slot connections with the shafts, mechanismto rock the yokes to reciprocate the shafts to alternately move the freeends of the arms into and out of the slots, pinions on the shafts,reciprocating racks engaging the pinions, springs to move the racks whenthe shafts project the ends of the arms into the slots, and cams to movethe racks when the siiafts retract the ends of the arms from the s ots.

9. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wire intohoop -likc form, mechanism to strip a s liced hoop from the hoop former,a curved horn having one end adjacent-the hoop-former and havingopposite curved slots, a pair of rockingarms having their free ends inalinement with the slots in the horn, a pair of shafts carrying saidarms, yokes having pin and slot connections with the shafts, rock-shaftscarrying said yokes, spring-actuated arms on the rock-shafts, cams formoving the latter arms against their spring-pressure, and

mechanism to shift the, first pairof shafts to engage andv disengagethefr'eegends of said rocking-arms with the fslots, in the.

horn. g A I 10. In a hoop ymachine,,.mechanisml to form and splice a'lengthofwireintohoop like form, mechanism tostripzajspliqedhoop fromthe hoop-former, a eurvedfhorn having one end adjacent the hoop for nerand having opposite curved slots' azpair of rocking-arms having theirfree ends in alinement with the slots in the horn, a pair'of shaftscarrying said arms, yokes having pin and slot connections with theshafts,'rock-shafts carrying said yokes, springeiactuatedarms 'on therockshafts, canis'-;for'- ing said latter arms against theirfspr'i g.-

slots, pinions on the "said firstshafts, reciprocating racks engagingthe pinions, springs to move the racks when the rock-shafts are moved toproject the. free ends of the arms into the slots, and cams tomove theracks when the rockshafts are moved, to retract the free ends of thearms from the slots.

. 11. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wireinto'hooplike form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from thehoop-former, a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former andhaving opposite curved slots, an expanderat the other end of the horncomposed, of movable heads, a pair of rocking-arms in alinement with theslots in the horn, means to operate the arms to move a hoop along thehorn to the expandena double cam to operate the expander-heads, a shaftcarrying said cam, j'

and means to periodically turn the shaft.

12. In a hoop machine,.niechanism' to form and splice a length of wireinto hooplike form, mechanism to st-ripa spliced hoop from thehoop-former, a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former,an'expander at the other end of the horn composed of a pairof oppositelymovableheads,

means to move ahoop' along the horn to-the expander, a double cam tooperatethe exf pander-heads, a shaft carrying said cam, a

plunger having longitudinal andfrotatin'g motions, means to shift theplunger lo'iigitudinally to engage and disengage the cam shaft, and anintermittent gear'to turn the plunger while engaged Wll3l1 tl1603.IIi-Sllflft.

13. In a hoop machine, mechanism to: form and splice a" length of wireinto hoop-like form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoopfrom thehoop-former,a curved horn-having one end adj acenttlie hoop-formeran'djfhaving s ers-fie Pr t, the free ends of the'rook-mgai'ins"into the'cally operate the intermittent opposite curved slots, an expander atthe other end of the horn composed of movable heads, a pair ofrocking-arms in alinement with the slots in the horn,-a drive-shaft,means to" operate the arms from the drive shaft to move a hoop, alongthe horn to the expander, a double cam to'operate the exshift theplungerlongitudinally to engage and disengage the'cani-shaft, anintermittent gear to turn the plunger while engaged with the cam-shaft,and mechanism to periodi- 'cally operate the intermittent gear andplunger-shifting means. w

15'.- In a-hoop machine, an expander comprising movable heads, aguide-wayfor said heads and retaining plates between the heads and way,an expander-cam, ashaft [pander-heads, a shaft carrying said cam, aplunger having longitudinal and rotating -motions, a shaft carrying acam-wheel to shift the plunger longitudinally togengage and disengagethe cam-shaftfan intermittent carrying said cam, a plunger havinglongitfludinal and rotating motions, means to shift the plungerlongitudinally to engage and disengage the cam-shaft, .anintermittentgear to turn the plunger while engaged with the cam-shaft, and mechanismto periodigear and plunger-shifting 1 means. v,

16. In a hoo mach ne an ex ander comprising a pairof oppositely movableheads,

a guide-way for said heads and retaining plates'between the heads andway. a double cam to expand-said heads,'a shaft carrying rotatingmotions, means to sliiftthe plunger longitudinally to engage anddisengage-the cam-shaft, an; intermittent gear to turn the plunger whileengaged with the cam-shaft,

. and mechanism to periodically operate the in-" termitt'ent gear andplunger-shifting means.

1.17. In ahoop machine, an expander coniprisingmovable, heads, aguide-way for said heads and retaining plates between the heads and wayan. .expander-cani, a shaft carrying said cam, a plungerhavinglongitudinal and rotating motions, a pivoted frame to shift theplunger longitudinally to engage and disengage the cam-shaft, a shafthaving a cam to operate the frame. an intermittent gear operated by saidlast shaft to turn the plun- "ger, a drive-shaft, and a' clutch toperiodically couple the drive-shaft and frame-operating shaft.

said cam, 'aplunger having longitudinal and I 18. In a hoop machine,mechanism to form and splice a length of wire into hoop-like form,mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from the hoop-former, a' curved hornhaving one end adjacent the hoop-former and having opposite curvedslots, an expander at the other end of the horn, a pair of rockingarmsin alinement with the slots in the horn, means to operate the arms tomove a hoop along the horn to the expander, a pair of supporting plateson opposite sides of the expander, means to move the plates toward andaway from the expander, and means to operate the expander.

: 19. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wireinto hoop-like form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from thehoop-former, a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former andhaving opposite curved'slots, an expander at the other end of the horn,a' pair of rockingarms in alinement with the slots in the horn,

means to operate the arms to move a hoop along the horn to the expander,a pair of supporting plates on opposite sides of the expander,rock-shafts carrying said plates,

means to rock the shafts to move the platestoward and away from theexpander, and means to operate the expander.

'20. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wireinto hoop-like form, mechanisl'n to strip a spliced hoop from thehoop-former, a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former,means to move a hoop along the horn, a drive-shaft, a' counting wheeloperated by the drive-shaft, a receiving reel, means to periodicallyturn the reel, and means controlled by the counting wheel to operate thereel-turning means upon the completion of a revolution of said wheel.

21. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wireinto hoop-like form,'mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from thehoop-former, a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former, apair of movable arms on opposite sides of the horn, means to operate thearms to move a hoop along the horn, a drive-shaft, a counting wheeloperated by the drive-shaft, a receiving reel, means to periodicallyturn the reel, and means controlled by the counting wheel to operate thereel-turning means upon the completion of a revolution of said wheel.

22. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wireinto hoop-like form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from thehoop-former, a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former andhaving opposite curved slots, a pair of rocking-arms in alinement withthe slots in the horn, means to operate the arms to move a hoop alongthehorn, a drive-shaft, a counting wheel operated by the drive-shaft, arecciving reel, means to turn the reel including a clutch, and meansoperated by the count ing wheel to trip the clutch upon the completionof a revolution of said wheel.

28. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wireinto hooplike form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from thehoop-former, a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former,means to move a hoop along the horn, a drive-shaft, a counting wheeloperated by the drive-shaft, a pivoted arm, means for removably mountingsaid counting wheel on the arm, means for locking said arm in osition, areceiving reel, and means control ed by the counting wheel to turn thereel upon the completion of a revolution of said wheel.

24. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wireinto hoop-like form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from thehoop-former, a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former,means to'move a hoop along the horn, a drive-shaft, a removable countinwheel operated by the drive shaft, a receiving reel, and meanscontrolled by the counting wheel to turn the reel upon the completion ofa revolution of said wheel.

25. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a length of wireinto hooplike form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from theho0pformer, a curved horn having one end adjacent the hoop-former andhaving opposite curved slots, an expander at the other end of the horn,a pair of rocking-arms in alinement with the slots in the horn, means tooperate the arms to move a hoop along the horn to the ex )ander, meansto operate the expander, a (rive shaft, a counting wheel operated by thedrive shaft, a receiving reel having an opposite pair of upwardlydirected arms, and means controlled by the counting wheel to turn thereel a half-revolution upon the completion of a revolution of saidwheel.

26. In a hoop machine, a drive shaft, a counting wheel, connectionsbetween the shaft and wheel to move the latter a predetermined distancefor each revolution of the former, a reel having receiving arms, asecond shaft, connections between the second shaft and reel to turn thelatter a half revolution for each revolution of the second shaft,connections between the driving shaft and second shaft including aclutch, and a trip-device for the clutch governed by the counting wheel.

27. In a hoop machine, a drive shaft, a counting wheel, connectionsbetween the shaft and wheel to move the latter a predetermined distancefor each revolution of the former, a reel having receiving arms, asecond shaft, bevel gears connecting the second shaft and reel to turnthe latter a half revolution for each revolution of the second shaft,connections between the driving shaft i trip-device for the clutch andsecond shaft including a clutch, and a shaft and wheel to movethe lattera predetermined distance for each revolution of the former, a reel havmgreceiving arms, a

. second'shaft, connections between the sec- Ill 0nd shaft and reel toturn the lattera half revolution for each revolution of the secondshaft, a clutch on the second shaft, connections between the drivingmember of the clutch and the drive-shaft, a trip device governed by thecounting wheel, and connections between the. trip device and thedrivenmember of the clutch to couple the clutch when the trip-device isoperated.

29. In a hoop machine, an expander comprising movable heads, means toexpand and retract the heads, movable hoop-supporting plates adjacentthe expander, and means to operate the plates to hoop upon the headsdurlng their expansion and to drop the hoop when the heads areretracted. v

30. In a hoop machine, an expander comprising movable heads, means toexpand and retract the heads, hoop-supporting plates adjacent theexpander, rocking-arms carrying said plates, and means to rock the armsto move the plates to ositions to hold a hoop upon the heads uring theirexpansion and to drop the hoop when the heads are retracted.

31. In a hoo machine, an expander comprising mova le heads each beingoutwardly beveled on its upper edge and havgoverned by the 7 positionsto hold a ing a lower vertical skirt, means to expand and retract theheads, movable hoopsupporting plates adjacent the expander, a spring toclose the plates against the expander before its expanding stroke, and

means to open the plates to drop the hoop on the retraction of theexpander.

32. In a hoop machine, an expander comprisingmovable heads each beingoutwardly eveled on its upper edge and having a lower vertical skirt, anexpander-cam, means to operate the cam to expand the heads, means toretract the heads, movable hoop-supporting plates adjacent the expander,rocking-arms carrying said plates and spring-actuated to close theplates against the expander before its expanding stroke, and a cam torock the arms to open the plates to drop the hoop on the retraction ofthe expander.

33. In a hoop machine, mechanism to form and splice a' length of wireinto hooplike form, mechanism to strip a spliced hoop from thehoop-former, a curved horn having one 'end adjacent the hoop-former,

an expander atthe other end of the horn composed of a palr of oppositelymovable spring-retracted heads, means to move a hoop along the horn tothe expander, and cam mechanism to operate the expanderheads to draw thehoop to a fixed circumference.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH HAUK.

Witnesses:

KATHERINE V. BERLANEY, J. MCROBERTS.

